Everything you need to know about the obligation to use biodegradable bags for fruit and vegetables too: why you pay for them and how much they cost, what supermarkets say, and what the ministries of the Environment and Health say.
Update 5 April – The (definitive) opinion of the Council of State on biodegradable bags brought from home. On 29 March, the Council of State issued its ruling on the possibility for customers to bring biodegradable bags from home or otherwise purchase bags outside the retail service. The answer was affirmative: "Without prejudice to the primary interest in protecting food safety and hygiene, consumers may use in self-service departments only (fruit and vegetables) new single-use bags purchased by them outside retail outlets, in compliance with regulations on materials in contact with food, without food business operators being able to prevent this right or the use of alternative containers to plastic bags, provided they are suitable for holding food such as fruit and vegetables, obtained independently by the consumer; nor can it be excluded, in light of current legislation, that for certain types of product a specific container may not even be necessary." In practice, bags can be brought from home, purchased independently. Furthermore, other packaging is not excluded, such as plastic nets or paper bags. The decision now passes to the Ministry of Health, which will be required to provide new rules in light of the administrative court's ruling.
The watchword of the first hours of 2018 seemed to be "outrage." Not over issues of pressing concern (such as the hefty price increases for gas and electricity, to name but a few), but over an affair that is almost surreal. From 1 January, the ban on plastic bags came into force, meaning supermarkets and large retailers are now obliged to provide consumers with biodegradable bags for use in the fruit and vegetable section, at the consumer's expense.
The regulation that came into force at the start of the new year is the product of the transposition of a European directive (dir. 2015/720), over which Italy was facing infringement proceedings. The directive "concerns the reduction of the use of lightweight plastic bags", adopted "in order to prevent or reduce the impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment." In other words, Europe, as early as 2015 — following among others the example of our country, the first of all to ban plastic shopping bags — was emphasising the need to reduce the use of plastic packaging, and consequently its impact, both in terms of resource use (which comes from fossil sources) and disposal.
Hence the addition of Article 9-bis to Legislative Decree of 20 June 2017, no. 91, also known as the "Mezzogiorno decree," converted into law on 3 August 2017. Article 226-ter thus sets out the rules: "in order to achieve, in implementation of Directive 2015/720, a sustained reduction in the use of plastic bags, the progressive reduction of the commercialisation of ultra-lightweight plastic bags other than those with both of the following characteristics, certified by accredited bodies, is initiated: a) biodegradability and compostability in accordance with harmonised standard UNI EN 13432:2002; b) minimum content of renewable raw material."
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The law stipulates: "The plastic bags referred to in paragraph 1 may not be distributed free of charge, and to this end the selling price per individual unit must appear on the receipt or purchase invoice for the goods or products carried in them." It is undoubtedly on this point that controversy — and misinformation — has erupted.
Alessia Morani, a member of parliament for the Partito Democratico, explains online that "it is illegal for retailers to charge more than 2 cents," and that if this were to happen, it should be "reported to consumer associations or the authorities." Stefano Ciafani, director general of Legambiente, comments instead that: "Innovation has a price and it is right that bioshopper bags should be paid for, provided a fair cost is guaranteed, which should be around 2–3 cents per bag. Just as it is right to envisage heavy fines for traders who do not comply with current legislation." In other words, paying for the bag will allow the consumer to assign it an economic value (which was previously invisible but was paid for nonetheless) and thus lead them to adopt more mindful behaviour.
Europe was urging member states to "choose to exempt plastic bags with a thickness of less than 15 microns (ultra-lightweight plastic bags, those for fruit precisely) provided as primary packaging for loose food products, where necessary for hygiene purposes or if their use prevents the production of food waste." In this case, Italy instead chose to include the lightweight bags and charge for them at a minimum cost. In this way, consumers too will have to take responsibility for their own lifestyle.
Taking a high-end estimate, let us say an average family does their shopping three times a week, buying five different grocery items. In that case, the annual expenditure on bags (at a cost of €0.02) would be €14.40. According to data from GfK-Eurisko, which carried out the calculations before the law came into force, "each family uses an average of 417 bags per year. The cost per family will be €4.17–€12.51."
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Once again, the law stipulates: "Compliance obligations with regulations on the use of materials intended for contact with food, adopted in implementation of Regulations (EU) no. 10/2011, (EC) no. 1935/2004 and (EC) no. 2023/2006, as well as the prohibition on using recycled plastic for bags intended for food contact, are in any case preserved." The aim is to protect both the retailer and the consumer from food-borne illness.
In January, Environment Minister Gianluca Galletti had announced that "we are verifying with the Ministry of Health the possibility of allowing consumers to use bags brought from home in place of ultra-lightweight bags, convinced as we are that the best waste is always the waste that is not produced." He also stressed that: "The controversy over paying one or two cents per bag is merely an opportunity for electoral point-scoring, since it is clearly a transparency measure supported unanimously by Parliament."
"The most environmentally sustainable bags, with an ever-increasing percentage of biodegradability, would have been paid for by consumers in any case, as was indeed the case with those in use until 31 December, through a mark-up on the price of products. Today the consumer knows how much everyone's commitment to the fight against plastics and the microplastics infesting our seas and entering our food chain actually costs."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health makes it known that: "We are not against citizens being able to bring bags from home, provided they are single-use and suitable for food," as the ministry's secretary-general Giuseppe Ruocco explains. "The reuse of bags would in fact give rise to the risk of bacterial contamination with problematic consequences." Many people cite the example of Switzerland, where washable cotton mesh bags can be used, with the label applied each time.
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That's right: the biodegradable bags used to pack fruit and vegetables can be reused for separate waste collection. And at a lower cost than those normally purchased, even if they are lighter and therefore more fragile. The bags bought for fruit and vegetables can be used for the separate collection of organic waste, provided the label is removed. Some retailers, such as Esselunga, have long used labels with compostable ink, meaning it will not be necessary to remove them.
When approached, Coop explains: "From the very beginning, Coop has always declared itself opposed to making consumers pay for the bag, but the regulations are decisive on this point. Coop therefore made a commitment to keep the price of each bag down and asked to sell them below cost at a price of 2 euro cents. With the exception of Tuscany, where the price drops to 1 euro cent, by virtue of the fact that having started the trial earlier in some areas it was possible to further contain the costs of implementing the regulation which, apparently simple, in reality entails a series of significant new management procedures." Furthermore, in its stores, Coop directly invites customers "to avoid bags when dealing with fruit with inedible skin (such as watermelons, melons, bananas) and in other departments (delicatessen, bakery) we opt where possible for the use of paper instead of the biodegradable bag. All of this in line with the original intent of the law, which is precisely to limit waste." Furthermore, in the case of single pieces of fruit "on whose skin the receipt is placed, if it is just one piece of fruit it is possible at the till to reverse the cost of the bag (in most cases; there are, however, some stores where this is not possible due to management constraints)".
Esselunga for its part makes it known that as early as 2017 it had introduced the use of biodegradable bags in the fruit and vegetable department, without charging for them. Now, in order to comply with the regulations and avoid heavy fines, the chain has decided to fall into line, charging 0.01 euros. It has also already adopted labels with compostable ink, in practice allowing the bag to be reused in separate waste collection. Furthermore, chains such as Eataly and the EcorNaturaSì group have long been providing their customers with biodegradable bags, effectively anticipating the law.
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There is no point denying it: the problem of plastics and microplastics now present at every level of the food chain is a fact. The oceans are submerged under millions of tonnes of plastic, including shopping bags. According to a recent report by Arpat Toscana: "In the sea between Italy, Spain and France there is a concentration of plastic that exceeds that of the so-called 'rubbish continent' present in the Atlantic Ocean. Plastic is the main waste found in the seas, as it accounts for between 60 and 80 per cent of all the rubbish found in the waters. A figure that, in some areas, even reaches 90–95 per cent of the total, but also in Italian seas it reaches very serious levels."
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Matteo Renzi's response to the various media attacks came via Facebook: "The latest one doing the rounds by text message is that I supposedly organised a plot to help friends and third cousins of mine involved in making bags." The truth, as explained just above, is that a European directive was transposed into Italian law — one for which Italy was already in breach — in addition to the fact that bioplastics is an entirely Italian sector of excellence. One that will boost the turnover not only of the company cited in the alleged plot (Novamont), but of the other 150 companies spread across the Italian territory. It would have been enough to take a trip to Rimini, during the last edition of Ecomondo, the trade fair on circular economy, to discover and see first-hand an Italian reality that has already set an example for the whole world. But no, it is easier to get outraged over 0.02 euros.
